Tour operators in Italian ports

Can anyone share their experience using a private company for tours of Florence and Rome. I will be traveling on my own and find the ship's tours too much like a cattle drive. Will be visiting on the Serenity in October 2015

Can anyone share their experience using a private company for tours of Florence and Rome. I will be traveling on my own and find the ship's tours too much like a cattle drive. Will be visiting on the Serenity in October 2015

Didn't use them in Florence and Rome as we toured those cities on our own, but booked Joe Banana limos for Naples and had an amazing experience with them. They also run tours in Florence and Rome and if they're anything like ours you'll be happy.

Also found 2 other couples via our roll call and set up a tour share on their sharing site, Italy Tour Sharing.

They were very responsive via email in helping to book my tour and only required a CC to hold the reservation with no down payment.

Didn't use them in Florence and Rome as we toured those cities on our own, but booked Joe Banana limos for Naples and had an amazing experience with them. They also run tours in Florence and Rome and if they're anything like ours you'll be happy.

 

Also found 2 other couples via our roll call and set up a tour share on their sharing site, Italy Tour Sharing.

 

They were very responsive via email in helping to book my tour and only required a CC to hold the reservation with no down payment.

Also used Joe Banana Limos for tours in Naples (Amalfi Coast & Pompeii) and for Florence and Pisa. Also used them for our trip to the port from Rome. Highly recommend!

Had several days in Rome so did our own tours...walked everywhere!

Enjoy your trip!

We too have use Joe Banana Limos and have been very pleased with them.

Keith

Can anyone share their experience using a private company for tours of Florence and Rome. I will be traveling on my own and find the ship's tours too much like a cattle drive. Will be visiting on the Serenity in October 2015

We emailed back and forth with a bunch of different companies. All were very professional and quick with replies (Joe Bananas was one of them), but we ended up going with Italytours.eu. We were very happy with them. Would highly recommend them.

I agree Joe bananas or italytoursharing.com

My very favorite is the naples port..positano sorrento with amalfi coast and stop at restaurant lataggliano ( family style). Highlight of my trip!! In fact doing it again 3rd time lol!! I did the rome tour as well. Best of rome...excellent!

We used Rome in Limos. They have an option on their website to sign up for a tour and others may join it. We met a couple through this option that did not know about CC. They joined after emailing us. I think I also got a request from folks on a different cruise ship in port the same time we were.

Did you join your roll call for you cruise? There may be others forming small tour groups that you can hook with.

Another operator we used was Simply Amalfi. But you would need to join an established tour most likely.

we discussed tours on our rollcall and did 3 tours with Italyshoredrivers. Eight of us in a luxury minbus (wifi too) . one of the tours was in Naples where we had asked to be taken to Pompeii, he dropped us there for a few hours and then he took us for our drive to positano for lunch ( the views were beautiful) as was the lunch and wine;) and then onto Sorrento for a couple of hours. It was a fantastic day and our driver was great, he knew so much about the area and as with the our tours we did with this company, if it looked like we were going to be stuck in traffic, off they popped down narrow:eek: sidestreets (I was sure they couldn't fit!) and got us out of any possible holdups. I cant do the tour justice by my descriptions, but it really was great.

We used Domenico from "Private tour in Italy" for Naples, Rome and Florence. His services were top notch! We have sent numerous friends to him and none have been dissapointed.

Frank

http://www.privatetourinitaly.com

we discussed tours on our rollcall and did 3 tours with Italyshoredrivers. Eight of us in a luxury minbus (wifi too) . one of the tours was in Naples where we had asked to be taken to Pompeii, he dropped us there for a few hours and then he took us for our drive to positano for lunch ( the views were beautiful) as was the lunch and wine;) and then onto Sorrento for a couple of hours. It was a fantastic day and our driver was great, he knew so much about the area and as with the our tours we did with this company, if it looked like we were going to be stuck in traffic, off they popped down narrow:eek: sidestreets (I was sure they couldn't fit!) and got us out of any possible holdups. I cant do the tour justice by my descriptions, but it really was great.

So comforting to see positive reviews. We are booked with this company for the tour in Florence and Rome transfers.

Thank you for all the replies. Really appreciated

Just got back from our Med cruise 2 days ago. We used Naples Tour Service to set up our excursions in Naples and for our transfer from Civitavecchia to Rome, with a tour. Communication with Sergio was always a joy… prompt and pleasant. Our driver in Naples was Franco, and we absolutely loved our day with him! He was informative, entertaining, and very, very personable. It was as if we were being driven around by a member of our family. :) From the moment he picked us up in Naples we were comfortable with him and enjoyed his company. We did the Sorrento/Positano tour with lunch at La Tagliata. What a spectacular treat! Perfect setting and meal for a perfect day! In Rome our driver was Aldo. He went out of his way to show us the sites we requested to see, in addition to what he knew we would enjoy and would provide incredible vistas. We're already planning a return to Italy and definitely plan to use them again! http://www.naplestoursservice.com

So comforting to see positive reviews. We are booked with this company for the tour in Florence and Rome transfers.

Hi Isabella,

Could you provide feedback on your Florence tour with ItalyShoreDrivers? Was thinking of using them for Pisa/Florence/Wine-tasting for upcoming trip and would love to hear how your experience went.

Grazie, Alma

For our tours in Italy - Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia and Livorno - I used Joe Banana. Cannot rave enough. At each port my family was met at the ship by an English speaking driver who grew up in the port or the local city... e.g. Civitavecchia driver lives in Rome!!! All four drivers knew where to eat, what would work (we have two young adults traveling with us), and most importantly, what time to leave to get back to the port on time! The best part was all communication was through Cindy at JoeBanana - she truly gets the US cruise traveller... makes recommendations, understands that we are only there for the day, really great response rate.

In Messina - we did the Etna crater walk and Taorimina. both were perfect. The crater was gorgeous, and not difficult at all. And the greek theater in Taorimina overlooked the Mediterranean and the views were amazing. Our guide Antonio knew the area and was able to make sure we saw all the highlights.

In Naples - we did Pompeii private tour, winery tour and climbed to the top of mt vesuvius. The pompeii private guide was perfect. She recognized when our kids eyes glazed over and moved us on to a new highlight that brought them right back to asking questions. In Pompeii, we passed many bus-sized (cruise excursion) groups and quickly realized how great it was to go with a small group at our own pace and interest level. The guide knew how to skip every queue... even a very long bathroom one... PRICELESS! The winery lunch, tour and tasting was amazing. All the food was grown right at the winery and so delicious. We ended up buying a few bottles to take back on the ship (CARNIVAL VISTA). The Mt Vesuvius climb was hard! Probably what we needed after all the cruise food... but I would skip the climb and drink more wine next time. Driver was Pasquale - very nice.

In Civitavecchia - we did Rome on our own with a JoeB private tour of the colosseum. again - skipped every line. Got to points that were closed (unless you had a guide) that had great views. Marco the driver was local... got us back to the ship on time! even though many others were late due to traffic issues. We were able to watch others pull in and do the run :o

In Livorno we did pisa and lucca. Our driver was Claudio - great guy, he has spent 4-5 years living/working in US. We climbed the pisa tower (great suggestion). Claudio thought we might get bored in Lucca (he was right:rolleyes:) and offered to take us somewhere else. But the kids wanted to rent bikes and we spent the afternoon just riding around... I ended up loving every minute of it. The wall around Lucca is beautiful, flat and very easy to ride.

We shared one tour with another fam through ItalyTourSharing. But booked the rest directly with JoeBanana. Very easy.

For our tours in Italy - Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia and Livorno - I used Joe Banana. Cannot rave enough. At each port my family was met at the ship by an English speaking driver who grew up in the port or the local city... e.g. Civitavecchia driver lives in Rome!!! All four drivers knew where to eat, what would work (we have two young adults traveling with us), and most importantly, what time to leave to get back to the port on time! The best part was all communication was through Cindy at JoeBanana - she truly gets the US cruise traveller... makes recommendations, understands that we are only there for the day, really great response rate.

 

In Messina - we did the Etna crater walk and Taorimina. both were perfect. The crater was gorgeous, and not difficult at all. And the greek theater in Taorimina overlooked the Mediterranean and the views were amazing. Our guide Antonio knew the area and was able to make sure we saw all the highlights.

In Naples - we did Pompeii private tour, winery tour and climbed to the top of mt vesuvius. The pompeii private guide was perfect. She recognized when our kids eyes glazed over and moved us on to a new highlight that brought them right back to asking questions. In Pompeii, we passed many bus-sized (cruise excursion) groups and quickly realized how great it was to go with a small group at our own pace and interest level. The guide knew how to skip every queue... even a very long bathroom one... PRICELESS! The winery lunch, tour and tasting was amazing. All the food was grown right at the winery and so delicious. We ended up buying a few bottles to take back on the ship (CARNIVAL VISTA). The Mt Vesuvius climb was hard! Probably what we needed after all the cruise food... but I would skip the climb and drink more wine next time. Driver was Pasquale - very nice.

In Civitavecchia - we did Rome on our own with a JoeB private tour of the colosseum. again - skipped every line. Got to points that were closed (unless you had a guide) that had great views. Marco the driver was local... got us back to the ship on time! even though many others were late due to traffic issues. We were able to watch others pull in and do the run :o

In Livorno we did pisa and lucca. Our driver was Claudio - great guy, he has spent 4-5 years living/working in US. We climbed the pisa tower (great suggestion). Claudio thought we might get bored in Lucca (he was right:rolleyes:) and offered to take us somewhere else. But the kids wanted to rent bikes and we spent the afternoon just riding around... I ended up loving every minute of it. The wall around Lucca is beautiful, flat and very easy to ride.

We shared one tour with another fam through ItalyTourSharing. But booked the rest directly with JoeBanana. Very easy.

Wow great descriptions!!! Awesome!! I too love italytoursharing.com. Or private tours joe bananas!!!

I used sicilytaxi.com in Messina one year and also in Palermo. They are great as well.

We have used Joe Bananas for all ports in Italy and loved their services. The drivers are very professional and knowledgeable. Several tours to chose from for each port and they can be tailored for groups of 2-16 or even more if desired. We used to only book tours with our cruise company, but stopped doing the big-bus tours after using Joe Bananas. Cannot say enough good things about them.

I agree ... my family and friends all used italytoursharing.com also known as Joe Bananas. They honestly were the highlight of our vacation. We are using them again when we return. Our favorite tour was out of Livorno where they took us to Pisa, Florence and the Chianti region. We ended up buying a case of wine from the vineyard we visited and had it shipped home.

I agree ... my family and friends all used italytoursharing.com also known as Joe Bananas. They honestly were the highlight of our vacation. We are using them again when we return. Our favorite tour was out of Livorno where they took us to Pisa, Florence and the Chianti region. We ended up buying a case of wine from the vineyard we visited and had it shipped home.

We bought wine as well and had it shipped home. We have used Joe Bananas many times for our tours and love their services. We have two cruises coming up in June 2018 and have them reserved for our tours again. :)

We have used Joe Bananas for all ports in Italy and loved their services. The drivers are very professional and knowledgeable. Several tours to chose from for each port and they can be tailored for groups of 2-16 or even more if desired. We used to only book tours with our cruise company, but stopped doing the big-bus tours after using Joe Bananas. Cannot say enough good things about them.

We used them several times and also thought they were terrific.

The good news is that between them and two or three others often recommended on this board (romainlimo seems to be the most often recommended) there are a lot of good choices out there.

Keith

We used them several times and also thought they were terrific.

 

The good news is that between them and two or three others often recommended on this board (romainlimo seems to be the most often recommended) there are a lot of good choices out there.

 

Keith

Never used romainlimo, so I have no knowledge of them. But I agree that Joe B. is very good.

As you are traveling alone, I recommend joining the roll call for your cruise. It is a good place for info and opportunities to join others on small organized tours.

Edit: I just noticed this is a very old thread. I stand by my recommendation.

We just returned from NCL cruise (myself mum and daughter) we did a tour of Pisa & Florence with ItalyTours.eu it was very well organised, picked us up at the port took us to Pisa first so it wouldn't be to crowded then Florence our driver was Gabriele (he even bought mum a coffee whilst we waited for ) our tour guide Francesca. Drop off and pick up in main square. Highly recommended would go with them again